My New Chapter In Life @UK

Sharing of Cycling, Travel, Baking, DIY and personal feelings

Tagged: Immigration

5

Family / Life / Music / UK Immigration

Piano Restoration – Part 1 鋼琴大翻新 (一)

Just as mentioned in my previous post, our Yamaha U1 piano was about 20 years old. It was used by my boy’s cousin for her piano learning and subsequently passed to him. It carried two wonder stories of learning and development in music. From random playing with their little fingers to achieving Grade 8 certification and if possible, we would like to have the stories be continued.

正如之前的一篇説過，家中的 Yamaha U1 鋼琴已有約二十年歷史，原本是兒子表姐自小的學習伙伴。一座漆黑的鋼琴盛載着兩個音樂成長故事；由只懂亂敲琴鍵，到取得八級資歷，如果可以的話，我很希望這故事能一直延續下去。

5

Challenges / Cycling / Cycling Routes / Family / Life / Riding in UK / UK Immigration

Riding with my boss 與 Boss 走一轉

Studying in UK is really wonderful, there are so many term breaks throughout the school year. Just like the recent Spring Term Break that began on 1st of April, my little boss started staying at home with nothing to do again. Early Sunday morning, he suggested to go cycling, which I had no reason to turn down despite of the cold and windy weather.

在英國讀書真好，年中 term break 多到難以至信，剛過去的四月一日又是 Spring Term Break 的開始，家中小老闆又再百無聊賴的 hea 在家，星期日早上，難得他提議午後騎車出外走走，雖然天氣非常寒冷，我也無法拒絶。

8

Challenges / Cycling / Cycling Routes / Life / Riding in UK / UK Immigration

Round Trip Ride – Putney Heath 走一轉系列 – Putney Heath

For the past cycling trips, I used to take those relatively flat roads and footpaths. In this round of my Round Trip Ride, I would include some bike climbs in my visit to another adjacent district, the Borough of Wandsworth and with Putney Heath as my destination. The return trip would go through Richmond Park and back to the Kingston twon centre. The total distance was estimated to be around 29 Km.

過往的單車路線大多是以較平坦的車路或小徑為主，今次會嘗試加多一點爬坡路段。行程以 Borough of Wandsworth 的 Putney Heath 為目的地，回程會穿越 Richmond Park 返回 Kingston 市中心，行程預計約 29 公里。

6

Family / Life / Random Thoughts / UK Immigration

Driving in UK 英倫駕車日常

I had about 30 years of driving experience in Hong Kong and it wouldn’t be any surprise that I would pick up driving in UK. Once accommodation was settled, I started by car buying exercise.

在香港開了差不多三十年車，到了英國自然心思思想買車，居所安頓好後便開始我的買車行動。

28

Family / Life / Random Thoughts / UK Immigration

Medical Consultation in UK 英倫睇醫生

One of the greatest concerns when moving to UK is medical care. People like me having chronicle illness, getting the required medicine and proper medical follow-up are the major issues to be addressed.

移居英國其中一個極大的憂慮就是醫療，就像我這類長期病患者，覆診和藥物安排都是主要面對的問題。

12

Challenges / Cycling / Life / Riding in UK / UK Immigration

Round Trip Ride – East Molesey 走一轉系列 – East Molesey

There are seven Local Government Districts adjacent to Kingston Upon Thames. Wimbledon and Raynes Park that I recently rode to belong to one of these, the London Borough of Merton. In this round of my Round Trip Ride, I will share with you my visit to another district, the Borough of Elmbridge. The destination is East Molesey.

與 Kingston Upon Thames 接壤的地區政府管轄區（Local Government Districts）共有七個，早前往 Wimbledon 及 Raynes Park 時已到訪過其中一個，亦即 London Borough of Merton。今次要介绍的行程會到另一個區 Borough of Elmbridge，目的地是 East Molesey 市。

21

Family / Foods / Life / Random Thoughts / UK Immigration

Meal Deals 平價午餐

In UK, we normally cooked our dinners and would only go to restaurants during weekends or holidays. As my son was at school during weekdays, making lunch for just two of us became quite uneconomical and we normally ended up having instant noodles, pasta or bread instead.

在英國的日子，晚飯都是在家煮食，通常星期六、日或假期才出街食飯。至於午餐，因兒子上學，剩下我和太太兩人煮飯就變得頗不化算，又不知煮甚麼餸，往往只是吃個公仔麵、意大利粉或麵包就算。

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Challenges / Cycling / Cycling Routes / Life / Riding in UK / UK Immigration

Round Trip Ride – Wimbledon 走一轉系列 – 温布頓

In my previous posts, I had mentioned that I found it a bit boring cycling in parks within the Kingston. So I changed my mind and planned to visit nearby areas with my bike. Not only served as great exercises for me, but also help me to understand more about the areas nearby.

上一篇提過在 Kingston 市內公園踩單車有點悶，於是改變想法，打算到鄰近地區走走，運動之餘又可熟習其他地方。

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Challenges / Cycling / Cycling Routes / Life / Riding in UK / UK Immigration

Short Ride – Bushy Park 灌木公園單車遊

There are several places near Kingston town centre that are great for walking and cycling. These includes Barge Walk and Hampton Court Home Park that I had visited before as well as Bushy Park that I am going to introduce in this post.

Kingston 市中心附近有數個適合漫步或騎單車的著名景點，包括早前我去過的 Barge Walk，漢普敦公園及今次要介紹的灌木公園（Bushy Park）。

17

Family / Random Thoughts

UK Immigration – Six Months Summary 移居英國 – 半年小體驗

Dated back in late April when I first arrived in Heathrow Airport, it was cold at 7 to 8℃. Despite I had my thick jacket on, I still couldn’t stand the cold weather. Next came the UK summer where I had enjoyed some lovely warm and sunny days. Stepping into late autumn, weather is getting colder and colder. Temperature suddenly dropped back to 6 to 7℃ and I have to put on my thick again.

記得四月尾到達倫敦，剛踏出機埸，氣溫只得七、八度，雖然已穿上厚厚外套，但還是有點吃不消。往後有幸過了一個陽光普照，和暖的夏天。轉眼半年，剛踏入十一月的深秋，這幾天氣溫又驟降到六、七度，又是時侯重新披上我的羽絨外衣了。

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Guitar / Life / Music / Random Thoughts / UK Immigration

A Night with Eric 與神共聚

Haven’t listened to Eric Clapton’s songs for quite a while. I believed having only his “Riding With The King” album in my iPhone is the major reason why the chance of presenting his songs under Random Play mode was so low.

Tonight, I came across Eric’s latest album through YouTube’s Ads Algorithm.

很久沒有聽過 Eric Clapton 的歌，原因可能是手機中只有他和 BB King 的 “Riding With The King” 大碟，在 Random Play 模式下很少遇上，

今晚剛巧就碰上 YouTube 在其廣告演算法下推介的新歌曲片段 。

2

Life / Random Thoughts / UK Immigration

Handed Down 傳承

I was deeply attracted by a YouTube video while I was aimlessly browsing the internet before dinner. The video was taken from the “Car SOS” TV series broadcasted in the National Geographic Channel. The title of the video was “Car S.O.S – Fiat X1/9 | Car S.O.S Full Episode 2021”.

晚飯前在網上漫無目的地瀏覽了一遍，突然被一條 YouTube 片吸引著。影片節錄自國家地理頻道播放的「汽車修復」(Car SOS) 電視節目，標題是 “Car S.O.S – Fiat X1/9 | Car S.O.S Full Episode 2021″。

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Challenges / Cycling / Life / Random Thoughts / Riding in UK / UK Immigration

Hampton Court Park and River Thames Ride 漫遊漢普敦公園、泰晤士河

Stepping into September, the temperature had slightly dropped to around 15 or 16 ℃. A little bit cool but not that cold. Just as my son had back to school, my wife and I went our for cycling in nearby areas. Some exercise for both of us as well as to search for new cycling routes.

Last week, I rode with my son along Barge Walk. This time, my wife and I would go cycling in the Hampton Court Park.

踏入九月，早上氣溫已降至大約十五、十六度，雖有一點點的涼意，但又未至於寒冷。兒子悠長的暑假剛結束，再重返校園，既然閒著便與太太到附近踩單車，順便找尋新的路線。

上次去了 Barge Walk，今次嘗試往漢普敦公園（Hampton Court Park）走走。

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Challenges / Cycling / Life / Random Thoughts / Riding in UK / UK Immigration

My Boy’s New MTB 兒子的全新攀山單車

In my previous post, I had talked about getting a new bike for my son. This not only allowed him to ride with me during holidays but also help to reduce playing online games at home. After several rounds of product research and shop visits, I finally got his new bike last Saturday.

早前提過要為兒子買單車，除了放假時能與他出外遊玩，亦可盡量減少他留在家中玩 online games，經歷數輪資料搜集及實體店舖拜訪，上星期六終於收到新車。

5

Life / Random Thoughts / UK Immigration

TV Watching in UK 英倫睇電視

As the one who spends most of the time working with computers, it has been a very long time since I last sat down to watch the television. The recent self isolation period seemed to be the longest time that I spent on the television.

人生大部分時間對著電腦的我，已經很久未試過坐低正式看電視，剛到英國頭十天的隔離可算是近年比較多看電視。

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Challenges / Cycling / Life / Random Thoughts / Riding in UK / UK Immigration

First Ride in UK 英倫踩單車：落地篇

It has been almost three weeks after my bikes were delivered. Nevertheless, I lack the motivation to go for a ride.

I did not sleep well last night and could not fall asleep again after waking up early in the morning, so I decided to go for a ride.

我的單車回到身邊差不多有三個星期，但不知何故，總是欠點動力出去走一敞。

昨晚睡得不太好，晨早起來又沒法再入睡，決定出去走走。

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Family / Life / Music / UK Immigration

Bringing your Piano to UK 鋼琴也移民

One of the most important tasks of our immigration is to ship my son’s piano to UK.

You may wonder why we did not buy a new one in UK?

移居英國當中一件很重要的事就是把兒子的鋼琴帶到英國。

你可能會問為什麼不在到步後另行講買?

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Family / Life / Random Things I Did / UK Immigration

There is always a “First Time” 總有第一次

There are countless “First Time” in one’s life. The first time going to school, the first time taking up a job and the first time to fall in love with someone, etc. It always make people worried and nervous, no match how old you are. The same applied to me when I have my haircut today.

人生總有無數個 ⌜第一次⌟，第一次上學，第一次上班，第一次拍拖 ⋯，總會令人有點固慮、有些緊張。即使已經踏入七老八十的行列，亦無一倖免！就像我今天去剪髪，情况也一樣。

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Cycling / Life / Random Thoughts / Riding in UK / Riding overseas / UK Immigration

Cycling in UK 英倫踩單車

The last riding I had was the time I waved goodbye to my old classmates and cycling buddies back in end March this year. As all my belongings had already been picked up by the international relocation company in mid-March, I had to rent another road bike from the bicycle shop. With quite a big difference in the components and bike settings, that 50+ Km bike ride seemed to be much harder than before. My muscles got sore and it took me few days to fully recover.

對上一次踩單車已是今年三月尾，亦是我的與一眾老同學和車友門道別的一天。而跟移民隨行的物品包括我的單車已在月中經國際搬運公司裝箱，當天只好在相熟單車店租用另一部 road bike。由於租用的單車與我自己的在配置及設定有頗大差異，那天五十多公里的行程踩得較辛苦，肌肉亦酸痛了好幾天。

9

Challenges / Family / Life

Self Isolation 自我隔離

We’ve been to UK for two months and most of the times were spent on arranging those bits and pieces of living here. Quite a lot of the works could only be done one at a time and not much shortcut are available for speeding up. With the amount of planning and arrangement, I didn’t have much spare time and couldn’t afford to timely update my blog.

Given that most of the works needed to be done had been settled recently, let me resume the sharing of my UK immigration.

到了英國有兩個多月，大部分時間都花在租屋，搬遷，日常生活及孩子找學校的安排，很多事都要一步一步做，沒有太多㨗徑可走，閒著的時間不多，更提不起勁去更新自己的網誌。

最近要辦的事也完成了七七八八，終於可停下來繼續寫我的移居體驗了！

8

Challenges / Family / Life

A Sun Never Set Journey 日不落的旅程

Taking long haul flight is definitely not my cup of tea and the only times were those trips to Europe. Due to time zones difference, most of these flights leave Hong Kong in midnight. Passengers normally went to sleep shortly after the take-off and rushed to the immigration upon arrival next morning.

In consideration of the adverse impact brought about by covid-19, our mid-night flight to UK was rescheduled by BA to the afternoon.

過往甚少乘搭長途機，記憶中只有飛歐洲的數次，通常都是夜機，而大部份乘客一上機就抱頭大睡，早上醒來便匆匆下機。

今次飛英國的航班亦可能在疫情影響下，由深夜提早至同日下午。